KAMAS — From the opening whistle, South Summit focused on realizing one particular goal above all others. The Wildcats were determined to go after the ball and use aggressive play to keep Gunnison off-balance on both sides of the field.

That extra dose of aggressiveness made all the difference in helping South Summit edge the Bulldogs 2-1 in the first round of the 2A girls soccer tournament on Wednesday afternoon.

"We had great teamwork," senior forward Mykan Stevens said. "We were talking a lot out there, which is something we kind of slacked on this year. But (in) this game, we just picked it up. We played our hardest."

Stevens helped the Wildcats grab an early edge during the first half. Elli Farmer dribbled down into the penalty area in the 28th minute and laid a short pass off to Stevens. With an open path to the net ahead of her, Stevens blasted the ball up the middle of the area and past the right side of freshman keeper BrieAnn Peterson to give South Summit a 1-0 lead.

The timing of the goal could not have been better for the Wildcats, who had to endure some tense moments fending off a series of early Gunnison attacks

Taking a lead when it did offered South Summit a measure of relief.

"It was definitely a good time to get that goal," Wildcats coach Teralyn Wallace said. "And we knew we needed that other one because they had those shots on us and we knew (a goal for Gunnison) could come at any time."

Carlee Dick provided the insurance goal South Summit was seeking in the 50th minute when she blasted the ball toward the left post and buried it in the corner of the net to make it 2-0 for the Wildcats.

The Bulldogs battled down to the wire, though, and cut the lead in half late when Karen Orozco blasted a shot from the right flank in the 77th minute. The ball took a wicked hop across the turf before going past senior keeper Amy Neff and settling into the left corner of the net.

Gunnison definitely had chances to force a tie or take the lead in both halves, but the Wildcats managed to stay composed on their end when they needed to do it.

"They had a lot of shots, but our defense was pretty good with holding them," Stevens said.

e-mail: jcoon@desnews.com